Coyotes have Kings’ number

So much for the Ilya Bryzgalov theory.

You could only pin so much on a hot goaltender keeping a team down, and out, after five games of a season series. On Monday, the Coyotes went to backup goalie Mikael Tellqvist, little used since Bryzgalov magically materialized on waivers, via the Ducks, on Nov. 17.

Different goalie, same result.

Phoenix won, 4-0, at a quieted Staples Center in front of an announced crowd of 16,617, keeping the Coyotes’ undefeated streak this season against the Kings firmly intact, hitting six victories in six games.

“Couldn’t tell you,” said Kings defenseman Jack Johnson of the reasons behind the Coyotes’ dominance. “If we had that answer, this wouldn’t happen. They seem to match up well against us and they play well against us, get a lot of good bounces against us and we have a lot of trouble scoring against them for some reason.

“Usually this team doesn’t have trouble scoring.”

Phoenix is giving the Kings the same sort of trouble that Dallas did last season, as they have scored a mere seven goals in the six games against the Coyotes.

It was Tellqvist’s sixth career shutout and second of the season as he faced 34 shots and looked sharper when he faced more work in the third period when the Kings outshot the Coyotes, 17-5.

At the offensive end, Coyotes’ forward Radim Vrbata led the way with his 27th goal of the season -- taking advantage of a Dustin Brown giveaway in the first period, beating goaltender Jason LaBarbera with a backhander -- and added two assists as the Coyotes hit the Kings with a blend of speed and offensive support.

The Kings, who have been shut out five times this season, hit back with little. Or at least until their enforcer Raitis Ivanans scored a nice decision against Coyotes forward Daniel Carcillo midway through the third period.

By then, the game was well out of hand.

The Kings’ season-long habit of starting games slowly surfaced again; they had no shots on goal in the opening six minutes and gave up two goals in six shots in a 1:21 span early in the first period, to fall behind, 2-0, by 5:06.

Said LaBarbera: “They find ways to beat us. We’ve had a few close games with them and a few games like this. . . . We kind of sat back and got caught on our heels early and they took it from there.

“We just didn’t have any jump, I don’t think. In the third period, we had a little bit more but by that time it was too late and we were down four goals.”

Four of the five shutouts suffered by the Kings have come at home -- the lowest point being a 7-0 loss to Nashville on Jan. 8, and the first one a 1-0 loss at the hands of the Coyotes and Bryzgalov on Nov. 17.

This was the sort of game expected to unfold Friday against the Calgary Flames when the Kings first returned from their grueling but relatively successful eight-game road trip last week.

If it were only so simple to say it was road fatigue . . . delayed. Kings Coach Marc Crawford called it a “disappointing effort” and thought his team looked like “a tired hockey club.”

For long-suffering fans, there were two small glimmers of hope. First, it brought the Kings one day closer to the trading deadline, which is a week from today, and there could be a host of changes by that time.

And the other?

Well, there’s always the Steve Stamkos derby.

The last-place Kings didn’t pick up any ground on idle Tampa Bay and Toronto, the two biggest threats in the lottery for the player projected to be the No. 1 draft choice in June.

--

lisa.dillman@latimes.com